The system determines a first and a second snapshot of memory usage by processes in a computing system based on a predetermined time interval, wherein a respective snapshot indicates, for a respective process, memory usage corresponding to memory types including private memory and shared memory. The system computes, for processes common to the first and the second snapshots, a likelihood of memory leak for a process and memory type based on: an increase in an amount of heap memory and private memory; an increase in an amount of shared memory; and an increase in a total amount of private and shared memory. The system compares the computed likelihood for the process with a predetermined threshold. Responsive to determining that the computed likelihood for the process exceeds the predetermined threshold, the system performs a corrective action to address memory leak associated with the process.