Detecting Dangling Pointers and Memory Leaks Within Software

A method comprising:

• maintaining a balanced binary tree data structure having a plurality of nodes, each node representing one of:
• a heap record corresponding to heap memory that has been allocated, the heap record including a linked list of at least one pointer, the linked list includin a reference to the heap memory that has been allocated;
• and,
• a stack record corresponding to a stack for a thread, where a stack frame is allocated within the stack each time the thread enters a function, the stack record including an array of at least one frame record, each frame record of the array including a linked list of at least one pointer, the linked list including a reference to a stack frame of the frame record;
• maintaining a status table data structure for the balanced binary tree data structure, the status table data structure including an entry for each pointer within a linked list of each heap record of the binary tree data structure and each pointer within a linked list of each frame record of each stack record of the binary tree data structure, the status table data structure (i) indicating whether each pointer is valid or invalid, (ii) indicating a node of the heap record or the stack record that includes each pointer within a linked list thereof, (iii) where the node represents a stack record, providing an index to the frame record within the array of at least one frame record that includes a pointer of that stack record having within a linked list thereof, and (iv) where the node represents a heap record, providing an index having a zero value;
• and,
• using the balanced binary tree data structure and the status table data structure to perform at least one of (i) detecting a dangling pointer and (ii) detecting a memory leak location.

A computerized system comprising:

• a storage medium to store software;
• a mechanism to modify the software so that at least one of a dangling pointer and a memory leak location is detectable within the software, by:
• inserting additional code within the software to track the software as the software performs at least one of allocating and deallocating memory, to maintain a linked list of at least one pointer, the linked list including a reference to the memory that has been allocated or deallocated, and to maintain a status of the least one pointer as invalid or valid;
• inserting additional code within the software to track the software as the software performs at least one of writing a new address within a pointer of the linked list and reading an address stored within a pointer of the linked list, to maintain the linked list of at least one pointer to perform at least one of (i) determining whether the pointer from which the address has been read is a dangling pointer and (ii) detecting a memory leak location based on the writing of the new address.