Skip to main content

Valgrind Leaks

Question Text​

struct student {
    char *name;
    int age;
}

struct student *s = malloc(sizeof(*s));
s->name = strdup("Reginald");
// ...
free(s);

What are the leaks in the above c program?

Question Answers​

  • There are no leaks

  • s->name is definitely lost

  • s->name is indirectly lost
  • s->name is still reachable

Feedback​

strdup() allocates memory for a string so the returned pointer must be freed. Freeing s will leave us unable to free s->name, so s->name is indirectly lost. Find more about valgrind leak categories here.