To generate this patch, we can follow these reasoning steps:

Step 1. Root Cause Analysis:

1. Memory Allocation:
   - Line 7: Memory is allocated for 'ri' using kzalloc_node().
   - Line 12: Memory is allocated for 'root_ops' using kzalloc_node().

2. Error Handling:
   - Line 13-16: If 'root_ops' allocation fails, the function returns NULL.
   - However, it doesn't free the previously allocated 'ri' memory.

3. Vulnerability Identification:
   - This is a classic case of CWE-401 (Memory Leak).
   - If 'root_ops' allocation fails, the memory allocated for 'ri' is never freed.
   - Over time, this can lead to resource exhaustion as memory is not properly released.

Step 2. Fixing Strategy:

1. Resource Management:
   - Before returning NULL due to 'root_ops' allocation failure, we need to free the 'ri' memory.

2. Error Handling Improvement:
   - Add a call to kfree(ri) before returning NULL.

3. Patch Formation:
   - Insert kfree(ri); before the return NULL; statement.

The resulting patch:
```
<     {
<         return NULL;
---
>     {
>         kfree(ri);
>         return NULL;
```

This patch ensures that all allocated resources are properly freed before the function returns, preventing the memory leak.