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Asked: 2026-06-02T13:44:26+00:00

My mixed-mode MFC application is creating false memory leaks because the CRT doesn’t have

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My mixed-mode MFC application is creating false memory leaks because the CRT doesn’t have time to shut down before the MFC dll is shut down.

I have a very simple little app that shows the problem:

#include <windows.h>
#include <iostream>

struct LongTimeToDestroy
{
  ~LongTimeToDestroy()
  {
    std::cout << "Will get called!" << std::endl;
    Sleep(3000);
    std::cout << "Won't get called!" << std::endl;
  }
};

LongTimeToDestroy gJamsUpTheCRT;

int main()
{
}

Compile with cl.exe /clr test.cpp. When run, you get:

Will get called!

The crux of the problem is: any static/global variables that were declared before gJamsUpTheCRT will not be deallocated. For example, in my case the MFC CWinApp-derived class is not cleaned up.

Is this expected behaviour? I would like to allow my app to completely shut down.

Thanks,

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Is this expected behaviour?

    Yes, although you have to read the fine print in the CLI spec. Which promises that finalizers on managed objects are called when the program terminates. But with the caveat that the finalizer thread that does this gets two seconds to get the job done. If it takes longer then the CLR assumes that there’s something drastically wrong. Like the common curse of having code blocking on a synchronization object that isn’t going to get signaled. Which it deals with by aborting the finalizer thread and allowing the program to terminate. No diagnostic.

    You’ll have to work around this restriction.

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