Thank you for providing the code and identifying the potential CWE-457  vulnerability. However, after carefully examining the code slice and the specified line 52, I don't see a clear  vulnerability at that location. The `ret` variable is not related to any freed memory at this point.

Without a clear vulnerability to address, I cannot generate meaningful patches. Instead, I can offer some general advice:

1. Ensure all resources are properly freed before returning from the function.
2. Double-check that no pointers are used after being freed.
3. Consider using smart pointers or other memory management techniques to prevent use-after-free issues.
4. Implement proper error handling and resource cleanup in all code paths.
5. Use static analysis tools to help identify potential use-after-free vulnerabilities.

If you have additional context or can point to a more specific issue in the code, I'd be happy to provide more targeted suggestions or potential patches.