Technical Tip: Administrator cannot see Administrator accounts assigned with the super_admin profile

The built-in super_admin profile is not visible for an administrator with a different Admin Profile.

No administrators with the 'super_admin' profile are visible to an administrator with a different Admin Profile.

Only administrators with the built-in super_admin profile can perform the following tasks:

• View, edit, create, and delete super_admin administrator accounts.
• View the super_admin Admin profile.
• Restore configuration.

If a backup taken by an administrator who is not a super_admin is later restored to the firewall, this will remove all super_admin accounts.

To resolve this issue:

If no administrator with the default super_admin profile is known or available, it is necessary to factory reset and reconfigure the device. The default administrator 'admin' has the super_admin profile assigned by default.

To create additional administrator accounts with a super_admin profile on FortiGate, follow these steps:

1. Log in using an existing super_admin.
2. Go to System -> Administrators -> Select Create New and configure a new administrator.
3. In the Admin Profile section, select super_admin.
4. Configure the other settings as needed and select 'OK'.

Another option is to check if the super_admin is referenced with Single Sign-On Administrator; it is possible to use the FortiCare Account SSO to access FortiGate with the super_admin profile. For more information, check Technical Tip: Recover lost admin password with a user with 'prof_admin' profile.

For information about the permissions that can be assigned to Admin Profiles see the Administrator profiles documentation.

Related articles:

Technical Tip: How to reset a FortiGate with the default factory settings/without losing management access

Troubleshooting Tip: Admin user lost FortiToken / Token is not working